


Chasing Dragons

by SunflowerSkys



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Aang doing his avatar stuff, Aang's trying to keep a low profile, Everyone's confused, Hiccup is confused, It's not really working out, Mentions of the gaang (avatar) - Freeform, Mysterious dragon spirit, Random Berk villagers also included, Spirit Shenanigans, Stoick Needs a Break
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:53:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25591603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunflowerSkys/pseuds/SunflowerSkys
Summary: "So, let's hear this one more time; you say you’re looking for a dragon?"The figure nods its head rapidly. "A dragonspirit"He says firmly.“...Right. And you say you followed it to here? To our village?” The person again nods in confirmation.“Around here. I’m not really too sure.” A pained look crosses Stoick’s face; this interrogation is clearly taking a toll on how much weird he can handle in a day.It's your usual story, boy chases dragon spirit through a split in dimensions in an attempt to get it to listen to him. Boy then has tofindsaid dragon spirit. Just normal stuff.
Relationships: Astrid Hofferson & Aang (Avatar), Astrid Hofferson & Stormfly, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Aang (Avatar), Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Stoick the Vast, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Toothless, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson
Comments: 64
Kudos: 151
Collections: A:tla





	1. (Un)welcome Guests

**Author's Note:**

> I Know, I know, I'm way off finishing my other fic. But this idea came to me at 3 AM, and I had to start to write it down!

The sea is choppy around him as he steps onto hard, firm, solid, land. He seems to be on a small island, more of a sea-stack really, sparsely dotted with thin wispy trees that look practically on the verge of death. Aang looks around desperately. The spirit that led him here in the first place is nowhere in sight. The wind howls angrily in his ears, and he has a sinking suspicion in his stomach that this is going to be much harder than he thought.

 **••••**

The day has been going alright so far in Hiccup’s books. The weather is dreadful, but that’s not really unusual. In fact, compared to other days this is barely a light breeze. He and Astrid are walking back from their daily flight around the island, and he's sure his hair is still sticking up stupidly no matter how many times he flattens it. 

_(Sometimes he feels like he's only alive when he's flying._ ) 

He laughs as Toothless chases Stormfly past him, nearly knocking him and Astrid over in the process. 

“Cut it out!” 

he calls after them not really meaning it. Astrid punches him in the arm anyway, but he can tell she doesn’t really mean it either. 

“So, has Fishlegs gotten to you yet about that possible new dragon he saw the other day?” Astrid asks him as they make their way back to the village along the narrow cliff path.

"He wouldn’t shut up about it earlier to me, and I know you two love geeking out about dragons." 

Hiccup glares at her in mock offense. 

“I do not _geek_ out about dragons, they’re just really fascinating, and we learn something new every day-“ he cuts himself off. “I’m just proving your point, aren’t I?” She laughs, a sound that never fails to make him smile, and attempts to shove him. He darts out of the way, and she nearly tumbles down the steps. “Oh, I am so going to get you for that…” 

However, their conversation is abruptly stopped as they enter the outskirts of the village. People are streaming through the small streets and out of houses, all heading towards the large gathering crowd at the top of the hill around the village hall. 

He immediately feels a surge of trepidation. The crowd parts as he and Astrid rush towards the hall., closely followed by the dragons. He finds Fishlegs and the twins talking together in excitable voices, and he catches the end of their conversation. 

"It was like he didn't even have a dragon" Fishlegs says, leafing through one of the booklets he always seems to have on him. 

“Maybe he doesn’t need one, maybe he can fly by himself.” Chimes in Tuffnut unhelpfully. 

“Or maybe, get this, he _is_ a dragon, in _disguise_ " Ruffnut adds, and the two high-five with gusto. Fishlegs resolutely continues to ignore the twins. 

“Maybe he has an invisible dragon…” he mutters to himself as he rapidly flicks through the pages. “..a Changewing or something..." he trails off as he finally notices Hiccup and Astrid in front of him. "Guys, did you hear the news?!" 

"What news” Hiccup asks, out of breath from his and Astrid's frantic sprint to the hall. “We literally just got back from our flight a few minutes ago.” 

"There's this strange new guy who just arrived.” Ruffnut says, wiggling her hands for effect. 

“Really,” Astrid pants out. “Some strange guy. Is that seriously what all this fuss is about?” 

“Well, he did seem to fly down from the sky on nothing, and, I mean that is pretty unusual.” Fishlegs shrugs. “He asked to speak to the chief, and they've gone inside to talk. Apparently, no one’s allowed in” 

“Well,” says Hiccup brightly, “It seems like this is one of the rare times in my life where being the future heir is actually an advantage; they’ve got to let me inside." He starts towards the door, but Astrid grabs his arm. 

”Where do you think you’re going? I’m coming too!” 

“I’m not sure you’ll be allowed in,” he says tentatively. Fishlegs did just say that only the chief was allowed in, and I am the chief’s son.” He looks at Fishlegs for back up, but he seems to be deeply engrossed in his book all of a sudden. 

“Well, I'm the chief’s son’s girlfriend. Besides, you couldn't get rid of me if you tried.” 

“You shouldn’t go in, it could be-“ “Could be what?” she says cutting across him coldly, pointedly stroking the axe she occasionally hangs from her side “...dangerous.” he finishes lamely. 

“Believe me I can handle myself . We literally live among large fire-breathing reptiles, and you think that this stranger poses a threat? I can take him, invisible dragon or no.” 

And with that, she strides away from him and into the hall. Hiccup pats Toothless, who looks up at him nervously. “Don’t worry Bud, I’ll be back in a minute.” 

“That is, if Astrid doesn’t murder you first” Tuffnut laughs, and Hiccup shoots him a dirty look. 

The hall smells of its usual smoky self. It's much emptier than usual, the only occupants his eyes can make out are the large form of Stoick, and the marginally shorter form of Gobber, who he's not surprised to see has managed to find his way into the action. However, now that his eyes adjust to the gloom, he can see that there is indeed another person there, so small they take up barely a quarter of the room Stoick takes. He makes his way over to the table, where Stoick seems to be mid-way through an interrogation. 

"So, let's hear this one more time; you say you’re looking for a dragon?" 

The figure nods its head rapidly. "A dragon _spirit_ " He says firmly. 

“...Right. And you say you followed it to here? To our village?” The person again nods in confirmation. 

“Around here. I’m not really too sure.” 

A pained look crosses Stoick’s face; this interrogation is clearly taking a toll on how much weird he can handle in a day. 

“...How exactly did you manage that, when not a single soul in the village reported to have seen the dragon you rode on?” 

"Fishlegs suggested that he might have had a changewing." Hiccup breaks in as a chance to let his father collect his confused thoughts. Their new guest squints at him. "A change what?"... _right so maybe not then._

“Maybe he has a wingsuit like I do?” he suggests uncertainly. 

“A wing suit?” The mystery boy asks eagerly. “Is that like my staff?” 

“Your staff?” 

The boy shakes what Hiccup had thought to be a large stick. “That really doesn’t look very aerodynamic.” He says hesitantly. 

“I promise you it does work, look!” The boy does something too quick for Hiccup’s eyes to follow, and brightly coloured strips of what seems to be fabric burst out from where they have been hidden at the side. He barely stops himself from jumping back in shock at the sudden movement. Gobber is not so lucky, and nearly topples over backwards. Astrid peers at it curiously. 

“That still doesn’t look like it could properly support your weight.” She says interrogatively. “Did you jump off a dragon higher up and glide down for dramatic effect? Or was Fishlegs right when he said you had some sort of invisible dragon…” 

However, as much as Hiccup enjoys the amusing spectacle of their ‘guest’ squirming nervously under Astrid’s intense glare, he isn’t allowed to enjoy it for long as Gobber discreetly pulls him to the side where Stoick stands. 

“What.” he whispers. “I thought we were interrogating him.” 

“We are,” replies Stoick, keeping his voice as low as possible, “I’m just warning you to be careful. This may be a trick, something to make us lower our guard. He could be a spy, looking for a way into our village, a way to steal our dragons.” His words are sobering, but Hiccup already has his suspicious, so he’s just glad Stoick shares them. 

“What do you think?” He asks Gobber, who has been hovering around them nervously. He looks more worried then usual, and he starts when Hiccup speaks, eyes wide and fearful. “I’m just worried he could be some sort of evil spirit, maybe even Loki himself in disguise!” Stoick sighs. 

_"Here we go again..._ " 

Gobber continues, unheeding to Stoick’s scepticism. “I mean, flying without a dragon? Dropping out of the sky like that? And that’s not even mentioning how strange he looks.” 

“You’re as bad as the twins,” Hiccup groans. “Only they said he could be a dragon in disguise or something ridiculous like that. I don’t even know which of your theories is worse. The world’s a big place, and we haven’t explored all that much of it yet. There’s bound to be strange people. Not everyone has to look like us. Besides, it’s like Astrid said; a dragon probably dropped him off.” 

Their mutterings are interrupted by a nervous voice. “So, can I stay here for a while? Their guest fiddles with his hands as he speaks, he doesn’t seem to be able to keep still. “I promise I won't be too long.” 

"If he really is a demon,” Gobber whispers in Hiccups ear “we shouldn't refuse him. Who knows what terrible damage he could do!” Hiccup tries not to roll his eyes, but luckily the boy doesn’t give any indication of having heard Gobber. 

“So, I can stay then?” He repeats. Stoick stares down at him. He makes quite an imposing figure, but the boy doesn’t seem to be scared. 

“For now, I suppose. Don't draw too much attention to yourself though, you’ve caused enough trouble already as it is.” The boy performs some sort of weird bow, and Stoick’s eyebrows practically disappear into his bushy hair. 

“I suppose you have a name then?” He asks begrudgingly. The boy looks round from where he has been examining the wall. “Oh yeah, names!” He smiles widely. “I’m called Aang." 

"Aang, that’s an unusual name.” Gobber answers when neither Hiccup or Stoick make any move to do so. "You can call me Gobber." 

“Nice to meet you!” Aang replies cheerily. “You might say my name's unusual, but I’ve never heard of anyone called Gobber!” 

As they talk, Stoick again bends down to talk softly to Hiccup. “Keep an eye on him will you? Don't let him do anything bad. He says he's looking for a dragon, but who knows what he's really doing here. He might not look dangerous, but everyone knows looks can be deceiving. I don’t trust those innocent eyes.” And with that warning, he clears his throat loudly, and beckons to Aang to follow him. 

The crowd is still swirling as they step out into the brighter light of the sun. "All right, break it up!” Stoick yells. “Get back to whatever you were doing, nothing to see here.” The crowd gradually breaks apart, villagers grumbling about the lack of a show. Left behind are only Stoick, Gobber, Astrid, and of course, their mysterious guest. (Though he spots Fishlegs and the twins loitering nearby in an attempt at being discreet). “So,” Aang laughs nervously, “Anyone got a place for me to stay?”


	2. Searching

Aang takes in his surroundings. It’s a cold and wet morning, a sharp contrast from the warm Fire Nation summer he had been immersed in only days ago. He wonders whether it is physically possible for the sky here to stop drizzling. He’s glad he can use his air bending to discreetly keep himself warm, he just doesn’t feel comfortable wearing the sheepskin coats these people seem to like, even though he gets strange looks when he declines their offers. (He’s kind of against wearing dead animals really). The house he’s been staying at is completely wooden, _it’s a bit of a fire hazard for people who live in the company of large fire breathing reptiles_ he thinks.

(He still can’t believe that these are what this world calls dragons. He still remembers the incredulous look Hiccup gave him when he asked if Toothless was some sort of large lizard-bat) 

Now, he stands in the company of a number of other teenagers, each pretty strange looking if he’s being honest. He’s never seen blond hair on ordinary people before. He holds his staff tight in his hand and tries not to show his worry on his face. Stoick had asked Hiccup to give him a tour last night as they sat round the houses rickety wooden table, though Aang knows that it’s just a way for Hiccup to keep track of him. (He’s not completely stupid, no matter how young he may look.) So, Hiccup had spent most of the morning showing him around the many small houses precariously stacked down the cliffs and on the grassy hill that make up the village. But now this tour is over, and they stand in some sort of stone arena. The sun shines a little stronger than yesterday, and he feels it wavering gently down at him. The boy in front of him, Snotlout he thinks he heard someone call him, scrutinizes him. 

“So, you’re the “Mysterious Visitor” the twins have been blathering about. I’ve got to say, you’re not very impressive. You look like a twelve year old could take you out armed with a blade of grass.” 

Aang smiles his most disarming smile in an attempt at being peaceable. “I’m actually 15, and I’d prefer not to get into any fights if that’s alright with you.” 

The boy snorts disbelievingly. “Please, you wouldn’t stand a chance, even with a proper weapon instead of whatever that weird stick you have is.” 

“Hey hey hey!” Hiccup interrupts, coming over from where he has been conversing with the others. “Knock it off Snotlout, you’ve barely known Aang for a minute and you’re already competing against him! You don’t have anything to prove.” 

“I can’t help it, winning’s just in my nature.” Snotlout retorts smugly. 

“And bragging apparently.” One of the twins (Aang finds them hard to tell apart) whispers loudly to the other, and they both laugh as Snotlout flushes. 

“Well I guess we better do some introductions.” Hiccup says quickly, before Snotlout and the twins can get into a fully-fledged argument. 

“Aang, you already know me and Astrid.” 

He gestures over to the intimidating yellow haired girl from the hall. She looks up from where she’s been sharpening her axe and gives him what could be counted as a smile. 

“And of course, these are our dragons, Toothless and Stormfly.” He nods towards the alleged dragons who are lingering at the corner of the arena. He then continues to point round to the others, naming each of them and their dragons. Aang loses track a bit in the middle of the onslaught of names, but at least he now knows who’s not about to attack him or yell at him for being an intruder. 

“So where do you come from anyway? Asks Hiccup in a casual _definitely-not-an-attempt-at-a-friendly-interrogation_ sort of voice. 

“I don’t think you’d have heard of it,” he says, carefully dodging the question. “It’s pretty far away from here.” 

Astrid gives him a cynical look. “You won’t tell us where you come from, and you say you’re looking for a dragon, yet Hiccup tells me you don’t even know what dragons look like? I can’t help finding that suspicious.” 

“No, no, he says hurriedly. “I do know what dragons look like, just not these types of dragons. “The dragons I’m used too are different. They’re much bigger, and also longer, a bit like winged snakes. And they… comprehend more.” He trails off awkwardly, not sure how to explain, and not wanting to cause offence. 

“You’re saying our dragons aren’t clever?” Astrid asks coldly. 

“No that’s not what I mean.” He backtracks quickly. _That was a really stupid thing to say, I thought I was trying not to get killed!_

“It’s ok Astrid.” Hiccup says with a calming hand on her shoulder. “Before we started training dragons, everybody thought they were just dangerous pests, no real intelligence at all. But since then, we’ve discovered that they do understand, just differently from us. They can think.” 

“Yeah,” Aang says gratefully. “That’s what I mean! The dragons I’m used to, they could almost talk. _Great explanation Aang, really clear._ “Well they don’t talk like us,” he amends. “They don’t really use words, but they gave me the feeling that they almost could. It’s like these… _pictures_ in your head. They understand a lot, probably more than I do, but they have a different way of thinking from us.” 

He glances round the group, hoping to see some sort of understanding in their faces, but they just look confused. 

“I don’t know about that.” Snotlout finally remarks. “Sounds like a load of fish guts to me. Our dragons may not show us _‘pictures in our minds,'_ but they can tell us what they want well enough. Is it possible that we can just cut these explanations and get on with helping you find your supposed ‘talking dragon’ so you can take your weirdness somewhere else?” 

“Snotlout don’t be so rude!” Hiccup scolds. “Sorry about him.” He says apologetically turning back to Aang. 

“Please, he started it.” Snotlout mutters, loud enough for Aang to hear. “Well?” He says in a louder voice. “Are we going to get moving or not?” 

Soon enough the dragons are saddled and ready to go. ”You can ride with me,” Hiccup says to Aang who is currently inspecting the saddles. “Don’t fall off though, it can be a bit hard to get used to.” 

“Believe me,” Aang says. “Falling off won’t be a problem. I mean, this isn’t my first time flying.” He adds, almost like an afterthought. 

With that confusing remark, he hops up into the saddle with surprising ease, and they take off. As they rise above the clouds, the sun finally manages to break through the wispy morning mists, illuminating the choppy sea below them. It’s beautiful, in the damp sort of way that only Berk can make pretty. 

“I’ve actually never flown on an animal this small before.” Aang says into his ear as they fly. 

“Do you have any idea where we should start looking?” Hiccup calls back, saving that bit of information for later. 

"The last place I saw her was in that direction,” Aang points past Hiccups head to an array of clumsily arranged rocks that stick out of the sea like broken teeth. “And, I have a feeling she went that way.” 

“Great, you have a feeling!” Astrid hollers as she and Stormfly fly past them. “Did you actually see which way this mysterious dragon flew? Because I’m seriously doubting that there even is one at this point!” 

Hiccup can’t help wincing at Astrid’s tone, but she’s right. There hasn’t been anything to prove this dragon’s existence yet, and for all they know, this could be a trick. Then Fishlegs, who has remained silent up til now finally speaks. 

“What does the dragon look like again?” 

“She’s supposed to be a sort of light yellow with blue, like the sky on a cloudless day.” Aang calls back, seeming relieved by this change of subject. “But last time I saw her, she was a dark stormy blue-grey.” 

“So, she’s a colour-changer?” Fishlegs asks eagerly, and Hiccup can tell he’s itching to get his notepad out to write this down. 

“Well, I mean in a way. Why do you ask?” 

“I think I saw a dragon that matched that description, only briefly of course. It was long and thin, and it rippled as it flew, kind of like a river. I’d never seen anything like it. I actually thought it was a trick of the light for a minute. I only saw her for a second though, before she disappeared into the clouds.” 

“Which way did she go?” 

“I think it was heading North-East, roughly in the direction of Greentail island actually I think.” 

“Greentail island, how far away is that?” Hiccup can practically feel Aang’s vibrations of excitement through his coat. 

“Not far,” Hiccup replies, trying to remember the map in his head. “It won’t take us long to get there if we fly at full speed.” 

They fly quietly for a while, the only sound the shrieking of the gulls that soar far beneath them. “So… what do those tattoos mean, and where can I get them.” Tuffnut yells over the wind, finally breaking the awkward silence by sidling up to them. Hiccup glares at him. 

“What?" Tuffnut hollers. “Can’t a guy ask a question?” 

Oddly enough, the wind seems to die down a little, and Tuffnut reduces his voice to an almost normal level. (Well, normal for Tuffnut) 

“I just think they’re pretty neat. Really, they’re quite a statement. I’ve always wanted to get a load of tattoos.” 

Aang scratches his bald head, which Hiccup can’t believe isn’t getting cold. “Well, they’re actually kind of special, and they mean a lot to my tribe. I got them when I was 12, and I don’t think it would actually be possible, or allowed, for you to get them.” 

“Oh well,” Tuffnut shrugs. “It was worth a shot. Maybe instead of arrows, I’ll just get a massive dragon on my face.” 

“I once knew a guy that had a tattoo of an eye on his forehead.” Aang offers. “I mean, if you want tattoo ideas.” 

“Really? Did he say where he got it from?” 

“Well,” Aang frowns “He did try to kill me and my friends every time we met, so we didn’t get many opportunities to talk. Also, I’m pretty sure he’s dead now too.” Nobody knows quite what to say to that, and the wind resumes its howling. 

After what feels like the longest half-hour of his life, Greentail island finally comes into view. It’s thickly wooded, and the shores are rocky. Thinner trees creep up from the forest onto a singular small beach, looking like a stray gust of wind could knock them over. It really doesn’t look like the sort of place you could visit for a picnic, or even dock at with a boat. 

They hover for a few minutes, before landing roughly on an uneven patch of turf. 

“I hope this is worth it,” Snotlout grumbles. “I had a long day of nothing planned out. Well let’s get to finding your dragon.” He strides off determinedly towards the wood. 

“She’s not actually my dragon." says Aang, stumbling after him. 

“Well whose is she then? She’s got to belong to _someone,_ or else you wouldn’t be going to so much trouble to find her.” 

“It's like I said, she doesn’t really belong to anyone; except Agni I guess.” 

“Agni? Is that a friend of yours or something?” 

However, this last remark triggers a coughing fit from Aang that lasts several minutes. 

“Not exactly.” He eventually manages to gasp, cheeks flushed red with effort. 

Snotlout stares at him in bemusement. “Whatever. Let’s just get a move on.” 

And so, they head into the wood with the dragons following reluctantly behind as the canopy is so thickly layered even light finds it hard to get through. Shadows linger as they pass, scared away by the bright flames held in the dragon’s mouths. The wood seems alive with a variety of voiceless echoes that reverberate around them, the sighing of the wind and the groaning of the trees. Fishlegs shivers. 

“Do we have to go this far in? This place is really creepy.” 

“If this is the last place you saw her heading, then I need to go in,” Aang crosses his arms resolutely. “You don’t need to follow me.” 

“No way are we letting you go off on your own!” Astrid immediately replies. “Remember what Stoick said,” she whispers to Hiccup. “Don’t let him out of your sight.” 

Aang is already marching off, so they hesitantly follow after him. The undergrowth is thick, and brambles snag angrily at their heels. There aren’t really any properly defined paths, obviously nobody’s been here for a while. Then, all at once as he pushes past the leaves that drape across his face, he emerges into a rocky clearing. The sun is covered by a thick swath of leaves, the trees having taken advantage of this open space to extend their branches further across the sky. He takes a minute to breathe without the pressing vegetation as the others emerge behind him. But then he tenses, because they’re not alone. From the other side of the small clearing, a dragon emerges. Unfortunately, it’s not the one they’ve been looking for, nowhere near the description. It’s a rogue monstrous nightmare, coloured a deep vermillion. 

However, as it gets closer he can see that there’s something wrong with it. It snarls at them, teeth bared in aggression, wings huge as it spreads them. Next to him, Toothless snarls back protectively, but Hiccup quiets him. 

“Everyone be very still.” He murmurs. “We just need to be calm, no sudden movements. It’s obviously hurt or something, and if we stand our ground it should back off.” 

But despite his assertions, the dragon stays still, eyes fixed upon them, wide and furious yellow. Then, all of a sudden, it strikes. But not towards him, not towards the fireproof dragons. But to Aang standing unprotected further towards the edge of the clearing in a bursting blaze of fire and fury.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter up! I don't like this one as much as the first chapter, but oh well. Constructive critisism always appreciated!


	3. Escaping Flames

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking ages to update! I accidently deleted my draft haha.

Fire bursts through the air like streams of liquid gold. Hiccup runs towards the solitary figure at the other side of the clearing, knowing already that by the time he gets there, it will be too late. Aang will be burnt to cinders. He can already feel his mounting despair, if he’d been faster, cleverer, this would never be happening. What was he thinking, putting a boy who says he hasn’t had much experience with dragons in the midst of such a situation? But as all this races through his mind in only seconds, the fire changes. Instead of its hurtling path towards Aang, it’s disappearing into the air, leaving not even a scorch mark behind. 

However, he doesn’t have time to process this change of events, because the Monstrous Nightmare is already rearing its head back for a second attack. Aang rushes back towards them. The Monstrous Nightmare screams in fury. Aang reaches the saddle. Their dragons move- and they are once again above the trees.

The next few seconds he spends urging Toothless forwards, as far away from this danger as possible. But soon enough he hears the Monstrous Nightmare’s self-satisfied roar echoing over the island, disturbing several small birds in the process which flutter up squawking panickily from the trees. They’re obviously far enough away from its territory to be a problem for it anymore. However, he keeps flying, away from the island and once again over the choppy sea. He doesn’t want to risk the dragon changing its mind. The only sound to be heard as they fly is his ragged breathing; even the twins a resisting the urge to crack jokes as they focus on vacating the area as fast as the dragons can take them. 

Eventually, a small rock rears its craggy head out of the water. He motions downwards, and the others follow his lead in a swooping dive. The island is just big enough for all of them and their dragons to cram onto, with a little room to spare. Toothless growls at him worriedly as he dismounts, but he quiets him gently. He glances towards Astrid and sees the same questioning look in her eyes that he’s sure is mirrored on his face. So, he hadn’t been imagining it. Something really had happened at Greentail island. Something that Aang had yet to explain. 

The others don’t seem to have noticed anything amiss. Fishlegs is busy scribbling away in one of his many notebooks again, probably noting down the Monstrous Nightmare’s territorial behavior or something. The twins are vividly describing their escape from the ‘claws of death’ to Snotlout, who Hiccup can see from here has a slightly glazed look in his eyes, something not uncommon for him to have whenever the twins begin one of their speeches. Aang however is still. In the few days that Hiccup has known him, Aang has always been constantly moving, constantly twitching, fiddling with anything he can lay his hands on. But now, he sits quietly on a small rock, a guilty look in his grey eyes as if he’d done something he shouldn’t have. Again, he glances towards Astrid. She gives him a firm nod of her head towards Aang as her way of a reply. Well, time to get to the bottom of this mess... 

Aang looks up as they approach. Astrid skips any placating talk that Hiccup would have started with, and immediately gets right to the problem. 

“Well,” she says, voice dangerously low, Stormfly at her back. “ _What did you do_.” 

Aang looks almost startled by her demand. “I didn’t do anything!” He protests, jumping upright in one smooth movement. In that moment, he looks younger than he says he is, but Hiccup can’t afford any pity. Not when the safety of their dragons is at stake. 

“Don’t act stupid!” Astrid snaps. “You’ve obviously been lying to us about your limited experience with dragons! That fire blast should have burnt you to a crisp, or at least seriously hurt you. But you expect us to believe it just _missed completely_?” 

Aang looks upset as Astrid’s barrage of questions continues, which Hiccup has to admit isn’t an emotion usually associated with dragon-thieves. 

“Do you have some sort of fireproof clothes, or worse, did you do something to that dragon?” 

“I’ve been wondering if there was something wrong with that dragon too,” Fishlegs interrupts, oblivious to the tension of the situation, engrossed in his notebook. “Maybe it ate something, some sort of plant perhaps, something that affected its fire breathing capability…” He trails off as he finally looks up for long enough to see their faces. 

“ Uhm, what’s going on?” 

“We think Aang, if that's even his real name, may have done something to the dragon.” Astrid says, her eyes remaining focused on Aang and not bothering to keep her voice low any longer. 

“I promise you I didn’t do anything to it!” Aang says again. “I would never hurt another innocent creature like that.” He looks genuine as he speaks, but as Stoick said, looks can be deceiving. 

“I didn’t really get a very good look at the blast,” Snotlout says, finally joining the conversation. “Are you sure it didn’t just miss?” 

“No, it was right on target,” Hiccup admits. “Monstrous Nightmares are notoriously good at incinerating their enemies, as you should well know Snotlout.” 

“Hey! I’m not _that_ stupid,” Snotlout protests with a lifting of his hands as Hookfang snorts. “I know my own dragon well enough. It was just a suggestion.” 

“Look, I promise I can explain! I really can.” Aang sighs. “But you _wouldn’t believe_ me.” 

“We wouldn’t believe you? Right now, the only thing I believe is that you’ve been lying to us. I mean, you won’t even tell us where you come from! How do you expect us to trust you?” 

“Give us one reason to believe we shouldn’t kick you out right now.” Astrid adds threateningly. 

“Ok, ok!” Aang relents, hands clenched in front of him. “I’ll show you how I escaped being incinerated. But you have to promise not to freak out, ok?" There's a nervous tone to his voice, which puts Hiccup on edge. 

“Freak out?” Laughs Tuffnut, unaffected. “I’ll have you know that it takes an awful lot to surprise us. We’ve seen almost everything weird.” 

“Well, I’m pretty sure you won’t have seen this before.” Aang says wryly. 

He opens his clenched hands into a gentle cup, and Hiccup’s thoughts grind to a halt. Because nestled in Aang’s small palms is a tiny, flower-like flame.


	4. Confrontation

The bright, impossible fire flickers in the palms of Aang’s hands. The breath seems to have left Hiccup’s lungs and he can barely manage enough for a gasp. The flame crackles like the shriek of some sort of gull, loud and unignorable. He doesn’t turn around, too focused on this potential danger, but he's sure his disbelief is echoed on the others faces. He doesn’t blame them. Things today have stopped making sense completely.

However, his faith in the fact that the others are all as confused as he is may be misplaced, as Ruffnut eyes the flames appreciatively. 

”That, I have to admit, is pretty cool. How are you doing it? Is it like a trick of the light, or.?” 

She reaches out towards Aang’s hand, but Astrid grabs her arm before Ruffnut can grasp the very real looking fire. As Astrid pulls Ruffnut back towards them with no little amount of force, he is almost relieved to see that she too, looks confused. The confusion is accompanied by an expression that he would have classified as scared, that is, if he hadn’t known Astrid like he does. He’s sure he has a look akin to dazed in his eyes, but he tries to clear it in favour of optimism. Optimism that he's somehow misread the situation and the world hasn’t somehow spiralled into confusion and chaos. 

"How did you do that?” His voice is level enough, but his eyes might give his disbelief away. He feels Astrid behind his shoulder, he’s sure she’s as eager as he is to discover the truth. 

“Do you have some form of flame resistant jell? Some sort of hidden lighting device?" 

He's hoping for anything really. Anything that uses the faintest amount of logic. 

Aang clears he throat again, as if stalling for time. "..No," he says after what seems like a while, but is probably only seconds. 

"No, it's just me." 

Astrid finally breaks the silence which seems to have descended. "What do you mean it's just you? That's not possible. Last time I checked; humans couldn't _control fire_." 

Aang shoots the suggestion of a smile in her direction, corners of his mouth tilted in a worried curve. 

"Well, _you_ might not be able to, but _Firebenders_ can." 

Neither Hiccup or Astrid (or anyone else for that matter) have an answer for this. 

"I don't understand.." He finally manages to say. Anything to keep the speech flowing. Anything to stop him from thinking too hard about this. 

“What do you mean by firebender?” Snotlout interjects and Hiccup fights back an urge to tell him to be quiet. Who knows what this thing that looks like a boy can do is provoked? 

“Have you got, like, a small dragon living in your arm or something?” 

Astrid glares daggers at Snotlout, and Aang sighs. The wind sighs with him, and Hiccup curses himself for not noticing before how nature seems to follow Aang’s every whim. _But how was he supposed to predict this_? 

“Yeah,” Aang’s voice holds a hint of bitterness, and he holds the fire closer to himself, as if he’s protecting it from them. “I didn't think you guys would understand it. So, I just didn't tell you. But I knew something like this would happen. All I wanted to do was fetch the spirit, and get out. Get home. But now I don't know where she is, and I don't know where she's going!” 

Hiccup doesn’t know what to do. This thing, it looks like a boy, a boy about his age, perhaps even younger. But he's afraid. He feels like he should be looking for patterns, rational explanations. But nothing presents itself. The only thing left to do it seems, is to either fly away, far away, or…. Or ask Aang.  
(If, like Astrid said, that’s even his name).  
Ask him for the truth.  


He glances towards Astrid, but it seems that she is way ahead of him. She once again swings the axe in her hands, Stormfly a spiked shadow behind her. 

“Explain.” 

“I was going too!” Aang protests. “Anyway, you guys promised that you wouldn’t freak out.” 

Astrid acknowledges this reluctantly, letting the axe fall to her side. 

“All I’m saying is that this better be a very good explanation.” 

Aang lifts up his hands in the expression of surrender, and the fire disappears as quickly as it first materialised. 

“Well, first things first I guess. I’m not… actually from here.” 

“Yeah we know. You’re from that _distant village that your sure none of us have ever heard of_.” 

Hiccup almost winces at the sarcasm dripping from Astrid’s voice. 

“Well that is true, in a way. But what I really mean is, I’m… not from this _world_ entirely.” 

Snotlout laughs, the quiets himself. “Oh. You’re serious.” Aang nods his head in a flurry of movement. 

“It’s the spirits fault really. It was her who lead me here.” 

“Look can we just wait a minute.” Hiccup can’t help interrupting, but he feels like he needs everything explained in clear and concise measures. “When you said _spirit_ , I thought you were joking, or exaggerating. But you mean a _real spirit_.” 

Aang nods again. 

“Why were you following it?” 

“I was getting to that bit. Anyway, she’s a _her_ , not an _it_.” 

_Does that really matter_? “Just tell us.” 

Aang adopts a more solemn look. “Well, I’m not 100% sure of all the details, but they say she was Agni’s first dragon. The first dragon Agni ever created. Part of her spirit is said to be inside every dragon.” 

Aang pauses, with a glance towards their own dragons, still watching attentively from the back. 

“Every dragon from my world that is at any rate. Nobody had seen her for over 100 years, until when we got reports of sightings of her a couple of months ago.” 

_Something in this story doesn’t make sense_. 

“Why had she been missing for 100 years?” 

There’s an indefinable look in Aang’s eyes, a confused mix of sadness and guilt. 

“That’s… actually partly my fault. I won’t get into the details now, but there was a war, a war that lasted 100 years. A lot of bad things, really bad things, happened. I supposes it would have been my duty to stop it, all those years ago, but I was trapped. I didn’t even know that a war had begun until I woke to find it raging around me.” 

“Hold on,” Tuffnut breaks in. “I may not be as smart as Mr. Horrendous-Haddock here, but I can do basic maths. Your saying you’re over 100 years old?! I’ve got to say, you look great for your age.” 

“Well, Aang smiles the first real smile Hiccup’s seen since they started the conversation. “Technically I’m 115, but if you’re talking about years I’ve been up and breathing, then no. I’m just 15. Sorry to disappoint.” 

“So why did she choose now to make a reappearance?” 

“The war has been over for almost 3 years now. She must have come out of hiding because some part of her felt that it was safer. We’ve been tracking her for weeks, and I finally thought that I was close enough to make an impact. So, when she flew towards what I thought was the spirit world I followed.” 

The breeze flutters around them as Aang fiddles with the edge of his closed glider. 

“I just didn’t realise that instead of the spirit world, we had somehow flown through a seam in skin of the world and left our home behind completely.” 

Aang frowns sadly. “She’s lost, confused and hurt. And _angry_. Mustn’t forget angry. If you still want to help me, I would really appreciate it. I’m not actually sure of whether I can get back home without her help.” 

He looks downtrodden, like he’s given up on their help and is already preparing to do this alone. 

Hiccup gives his best attempt at a smile. “Well you were telling the truth earlier, that was pretty hard to believe. But.. I’m not sure anyone lying could come up with something so elaborate.” 

A new spark of hope shines in Aang’s eyes 

“So, you’re saying-“ 

“I’m saying I believe you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating for ages haha. This chapter has been hanging around my head for a while, so I'm glad that I finally got some free time to write it down in! Constructive critism (or any comments) always appreciated.
> 
> Stay safe.


	5. Mesmerising

The ride back to the village is a lot more awkward then Hiccup had hoped for. Fortunately, Aang doesn’t even seem to notice the silence, apparently too wrapped up in his own thoughts. But that doesn’t stop Hiccup from noticing it. From noticing the wary glances he sees tossed across the wind among the group as they make their way back, back, to Berk.

He’s not entirely sure they should be going back. As much as Aang seems sincere, as much as he wants to believe him ,the paranoia still tugs at the corners of his mind. He believes him of course, believes him about the firebending and all the other things (there’s evidence enough for _that_ ) but… he still just doesn’t know. Still not sure what to believe. 

He absentmindedly pats Toothless head as they fly, feeling the sandpaper like scales underneath his fingertips. _At least somethings still haven’t changed_. Aang still hasn’t really explained anything to them, well, anything that they really understand. That’s not to say that Aang was being purposefully secretive, no he had attempted to explain the situation. But Astrid had cut him off before he’d really gotten into the complete details, before pulling Hiccup aside. 

“Are you sure we should be doing this _here_?” 

She had said, mouth twisted in a nervousness that was uncommon on her face. 

“An explanation like whatever he’s going to say sounds like it will be a lot. Maybe we should get to more familiar ground before we really get into it.” 

And despite the desperate need for answers he had felt, he couldn’t help but agree. So now they sit, flying smoothly across grey spun clouds as if out for a normal flight. He’s only glad that Aang decided to ride with them instead of chasing off after his mysterious dragon... _thing_. In his opinion, its already been too much excitement for one day. 

**.....**

The village is largely disinterested in their return. Why would they be? Just another weird stranger, visiting for a few days before moving on. There are some glances upwards as the dragons’ land lightly, but mostly just the interweaving mingling of dozens of normal voices. Aang looks up with a start as they reach the ground, as if just remembering his position. He still seems quieter, more subdued, but after a revelation like he’s just given them, that’s only to be expected. 

“Well? Were do you want me to go?” 

He…hasn’t really thought this far ahead. 

Astrid must see the slightly panicked look in his eyes because she shakes her head with a faint smile. 

“The training arena seems like the best place to go. It’s nice and open so we can all fit in easily, and people generally don’t want to bother me when I say that I’m going to do some hard-core training.” 

Hiccup can’t stop the feeling of relief at her words. It’s honestly the best path for them to take at this moment, at least until they have a chance to all have a real, private, discussion. So, he nods, and once again they are in the air. 

**.....**

Like Astrid had predicted, the arena empties quickly with the announcement of extra training. He doesn’t blame any of the deserting Vikings, being a subject of some of Astrid’s intense training is really something to be fearful of. They stand dismounted in some sort of misshapen semi-circle with Aang in the centre. He’s not really sure what to say, and the silence drags out for a few seconds, before Tuffnut breaks it with a cough. 

“So, is it just me that would really quite like a clearer explanation of whatever you were going on about earlier, or is everyone else already in on the secret?” 

Aang smiles in a sort of bewildered surprise, and Hiccup can’t help a small, stifled laugh. 

“No, I think we would all like some more clarifications, if that’s all right with you.” 

Aang blushes slightly in embarrassment. 

“I’m sorry for being kind of vague earlier, it wasn’t on purpose I swear!” He sways slightly as he speaks, caught up in his apparent earnestness. 

“I just wanted to make you understand quickly, preferably without being caught up in a fight. Yeah, _definitely_ without a fight. But I did promise to give you an explanation, so I guess I’ll try to make it clearer this time.” He leans slightly on his staff with a concentrated look on his face. 

“I guess I should start by telling you who I am. Back in my world, they call me the _Avatar_. My job I guess, though it’s not really a job, more of a life.” 

He pauses momentarily from the fast paced words, and Hiccup resists the urge to ask him to continue quicker. 

“The Avatar is, well it’s a little hard to explain. The simple answer is that the avatar is the person who controls all the elements. Oh, I probably should have started with the elements!” 

Astrid interrupts the rambling spiel with a groan. 

“Can you please try to slow it down a little? Maybe even make a little _sense_?” 

Aang wrings his hands. “I’m sorry,” he sighs in resignation. "Explaining things isn’t really my strong suit, and besides, I’ve never had to explain _the world_ to somebody before, so you’ll excuse me if I’m finding it just a _little_ difficult.” 

“..That’s understandable I guess. I mean, I’ve never had to explain what a dragon is before or anything like that. I can’t imagine that it’s easy to explain. Just please, try to speak a little slower?” 

Aang nods.  
“I’ll try.”  


And so, he begins. It’s a long story, full of bending, or whatever it is that Aang calls it, but by the end of it, Hiccup feels like he understands just a little bit more of the picture. 

“So, to summarise,” Snotlout holds up a finger; 

“ _One_ , there are 4 nations, each of whom controls, sorry, _bends_ a different element.” 

“ _Two_ ,” (another finger joins the first)  
“You are the avatar, the bender of all 4 elements.”  


Aang nods at this, seeming pleased that they’ve grasped this concept. 

“ _Three_ , as you mentioned before, there was a hundred year war.  
_Four_ , this war resulted in your nation, the air nomads, being destroyed.”  


Aang nods again, but this time Hiccup can clearly see the deep sadness etched into his face, and the slight bitterness in his eyes. Snotlout hurries on quickly, for once picking up on the fact that this is a painful subject matter. “ _Five_ , you and some friends managed to finally end the war. However, you are now trying to rebuild?” 

“The key word being _trying_.” Aang laughs. “I won’t pretend that its been easy. It’s pretty much the opposite of a simple task. But I hoped that bringing this escaped spirit back might, I don’t know, bring a little more _balance_ into my world. At this rate, the only thing im going to be giving my world is anxiety over my disappearance.” 

“..Right.” 

Astrid looks apologetically at Aang. 

“Do you mind giving us a moment? I just want to discuss some things with the group.” 

“Whatever you need. I’ll just be…over here I guess.” 

Aang moves over towards the dragons, and Astrid pulls them all closer to her, shooting a slightly unsure look in Aang’s direction. 

“Ok,” She begins. “What do you guys think about all this.” 

Fishlegs sighs. “I really just, don’t know. I mean it all seems a bit far-fetched, not to mention _impossible_.” 

“Well then what do you think it is then?” Ruffnut interrupts. That he’s just some random dude who happens to have _weird magicy powers_?” 

“I’m just saying that we should consider all of the possibilities-“ 

“I believe him.” 

Hiccup is almost surprised at the words that come out of him mouth. But the simple fact is that he does believe Aang. He doesn’t know exactly why, but he just _does_. 

“Honestly, it seems to fantastical a lie to just make up. If he was really going to trick us, he should have come up with something more convincing.” 

Fishlegs frowns. 

“That still doesn’t mean-“ 

Ruffnut cuts him off.  
“Shhh! Look.”  


They all follow her pointing finger to see, sat amongst the middle of a circle of their dragons, Aang. The impossible fire is playing over his fingertips, and as he holds it up in front of the eyes of the watching dragons, Hiccup swears he sees streaks of brilliants colours twisting among the yellow and amber sparks. _Purples that fade in and out like shards of twilight, greens as bright as rain dampened dragon scales_ … its mesmerising. It’s beautiful in a way he finds hard to describe, and he feels like he just stared at it long enough…he’d finally understand. _Understand what_? That is an answer that he can’t find the question for. 

Evidently the dragons are caught up in this fiery rapture too because they look at Aang mesmerised. Like he’s the best thing they’ve ever seen, a person with fire in their hands, sparks in their veins-! And if the dragons trust Aang, then maybe they should follow that example. Because if they can’t depend on their own dragons, then who else can they really trust?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the terribly slow update! I've had this chapter idea for a couple of weeks but never enough time to write it down ugh. Hope everyone's still keeping safe, and I appreaciate each and every presone who reads this! Look after yourselves xx


	6. Reminiscing

After the conversations at the arena, things seem to settled down to a semblance of normality. Aang still catches the group giving him odd glances when they don’t think he’s looking, still hears their muttered whispers, but he does his best to ignore them. After all, he can’t pretend he wouldn’t be muttering with his friends if some complete stranger turned up out of spirits know where, rambling about things he didn’t understand. _His friends..._

He’s been trying not to think about what must be going on at home these past few days. Obviously, he doesn’t spend all of his time with the others; Zuko’s off ruling an entire nation, Toph has her metal bending to keep her occupied, Sokka and Katara have their own tribe to worry about and Suki her Kyoshi warriors. But they still try to see each other as often as they can. He can’t pretend that they won’t have noticed his disappearance, will still be blissfully unaware by the time he gets back. ( _If he gets back_ ). 

They’d known what he’d been trying to do of course, he’d talked excitedly about it at length with Zuko. Maybe he’d would think that Aang was simply on a spirit quest or something somewhere? No, they would’ve noticed the lack of his empty body... 

_How long has he even been missing_? It’s been a little hard to keep track of time, and he’s not entirely sure how long he was in that _space-between-worlds_ for. If he had to guess, he’d say anytime from a week to up to a month. Spirits, he hopes it hasn’t been a month. 

Maybe it’s a little selfish of him, but when he thinks of trying to get back to his own world, he wants to do it for his friends, not because of any duty he has to the nations. Obviously, he wants to help balance the world and all that, but he also just wants to see his friends, see Katara, see all of them. 

Things here haven’t been all worry though. He still goes out everyday with Hiccup, searching for the spirit, and he does believe that its closer. ( _Though he would much prefer it if the spirit could actually make an appearance for once_ ). 

He’s also still staying in Hiccups home, who doesn’t seem to have told Stoick about Aang’s…unusual background yet. Probably working some sort of carefully though out speech to explain it Aang supposes. Better than being threatened with an incredibly pointy looking axe. (He really should try and work on his metal bending). 

So now he sits in the slightly dusty spare room, tracing patterns absentmindedly on his hands. He should probably head out again soon, but he takes this moment of relative stillness to just, think. Think and try to puzzle out a solution. Why does his life always have to be so annoyingly complicated? It would be a lot easier if the Spirits stopped playing games just for once. I mean, how many normal people can claim to be frozen in a chunk of ice for a lifetime, battle towards the end of a 100 year long war, and then be chucked into another world of all things? Hopefully not many, he really pities anyone that could ever find themselves in a similar situation to his. 

There’s a tell tale creak of floorboards as Hiccup enters the room, and Aang puts his troubled thoughts away for now. 

“Hey,” he says slightly awkwardly. “I just wanted to know that we’re ready to head out looking again if you are. I mean if you think you still know where that dragon of yours is.” 

Aang tries his best at a cheerful smile. Letting the only people who have helped him know that he’s worrying about what to do probably wouldn’t be the best course of action to take. 

“Yeah, that sounds good with me!” 

**.....**

Astrid still isn’t sure of what to make of Aang. Ever since telling them the truth about himself, he seems a little quieter. As if by admitting to them his purpose in their village, he had suddenly been reminded of everything else. He seems to be trying to keep that bending of his under wraps still, which she can respect. They still haven’t decided how to tell Stoick, or any of the village about Aang’s situation, and even when they do figure out how, she’s not sure how well they’ll take it. She knows how superstitious Gobber is, and most of the other villagers are largely the same. 

However, sometimes, just out of the corner of her eye, she still see’s things she finds hard to believe. A particularly cold shower of rain that leaves Aang completely dry, the bumpy path that mysteriously was not as rocky as it seemed at all the moment they stepped foot on it, and so on. 

She’s honestly not sure what she’d prefer; if Aang just outright moved rocks and evaporated water, or if he just continues to do it discreetly. She knows that he’s likely keeping his bending hidden for their benefit rather than his, but it still manages to slightly unnerve her anyway. It’s not Aang’s fault of course, but she’s had her entire world view rocked so she’s allowed to be a little bit freaked out if she wants to be. 

It’s just her, Hiccup and Aang out on the dragons today. After nothing turned up for the first few days, they’d decided that it would be better to take a more rotared approach. No use having everyone miss a whole day to escort one person around the islands. She hopes that Aang’s getting close to finding the spirit, he looks so nervous all of the time and Astrid’s sure that at least getting a lead on the dragon’s whereabouts would reassure him. But until they do, she supposed that they’re just going to have to keep flying around in circles. 

Aang does look much less nervous when he’s in the air though. He smiles more and even laughs when the go into a particularly steep dive to avoid an arch in the cliff. So, when they stop to let the dragons rest for a while, Astrid decides that today might be the day that she and Aang have a proper, non-threatening conversation for once. If he’s going to be sticking around for a bit, they might at least get to know each other a little. 

He smiles at her as she approaches. He’s sitting next to Toothless on a patch of tufty grass, stroking the scales and examining each one with a look of curiosity on his face. 

“..So.” she begins, unsure of how to start a conversation with somebody she really knows very little about. 

“You like dragons then?” 

As conversation starters go it’s a pretty weak attempt, but Aang graciously answers anyway. 

“Yeah! They’re great! If I’m being completely honest, your dragons are really different from the ones at home. I mean, I know I’ve said that before, but still.” He resumes scratching at the itchy spot on Toothless’ neck for the next few seconds. 

“It’s not necessarily a _bad_ difference, it’s just...different. Here you train dragons, and where I come from, dragons train you!” 

He laughs to himself, and Astrid can’t stop herself from staring in bewilderment. 

_What in Odin’s name does he mean by that_? 

Across from her, she spots Hiccup also staring at them in complete confusion. He gives her a tiny shrug, and she decides to let the matter drop. If anything, Aang’s answer to any question she asks will probably leave her more confused then she is now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aang: Oh I made a joke haha :D  
> Astrid and Hiccup: wtf is going on
> 
> Not a particularly plot heavy chapter, but I thought that Aang could use a bit of a break haha.


	7. More Searching

The sun is shining, the terrible-terrors are croaking happily, and for once; it’s not raining. It’s a beautiful morning. So of course, things immediately begin to go wrong. Very rapidly.

The first Hiccup hears of it is when he’s abruptly awakened from what had been a fairly restful sleep. He blearily blinks open his eyes, only to jerk back in surprise when something large, scaly and black is thrust into his face again. It’s Toothless, and there seems to be something akin to worry in his grass green eyes. 

“What is it Bud?” He manages to croak out. 

Toothless, for obvious reasons, does not reply. But he growls slightly, an anxious, whining sound. Something is wrong. 

“ _...part of her spirit is said to be inside every dragon_.” 

For some reason, Aang’s earlier words echo in his mind. But that wasn’t true was it? Weren’t their dragons different or something? Surely it’s nothing. 

He has a Very Bad feeling that nothing is ever as simple as it’s supposed to be. Add spirits, other worlds and mysterious flying boys to the mix, and well...  
He’s out of bed and throwing on his clothes and a thick pair of boots in an instant. 

**.....**

Most of the others are already up by the time he steps outside of his door. Worryingly however, Aang is nowhere to be seen. He certainly hadn’t been in his borrowed room when Hiccup had been woken by Toothless, and the bed had been cold and unslept in. He tries not to think of it as a bad omen. Aang wouldn’t just leave. Would he? No, he can’t afford to think like this. Something is wrong, even is he’s not sure about what it is yet. Glancing at the others, he sees that they each look pensive as well. Stormfly is bristling, and Barf and Belch snap at each other’s heads. So, he hadn’t imagined Toothless’ worry. 

“Have any of you seen Aang?” He asks, almost afraid of the answers he’s sure he’ll receive. 

“No, I didn’t know he was missing.” Says Astrid, clear worry splayed across her face. “Snotlout isn’t up yet though, he might know where Aang is?” 

**.....**

Snotlout does not know where Aang is. 

“Well? What have I done now oh _great leader_.” He yawns to Hiccup once they’d finally managed to drag him out of bed. “Or are you guys just waking me up at this time for fun.” 

He sits silently as Hiccup and Astrid do their best to explain their reasons for waking everyone up. 

Snotlout crosses his arms. “..so, what you’re saying, is that your dragons were acting all cagey, and you decided that it must be because of some weird magic dragon, because there couldn’t possibly be any other explanation?” 

Astrid huffs irritatedly. 

“Aang’s missing as well.” 

“Are you sure he didn’t just pop out for a quick morning walk?” 

“His bed doesn’t look slept in! Surely that has to be suspicious to you, even with your limited brainpower!” 

“Hey!-“ 

“Look.” Hiccup interrupts. “We don’t have time for this.”  
He groans, and rubs his head to ward off the encroaching headache.  
"We’ve got to find Aang. I don’t know what exactly is going on, or if there even is a problem at all, but the one thing that I do know for sure that if there is some sort of magic dragon situation happening right now, we’re going to need Aang to help us deal with it. Ok?” 

Snotlout looks slightly chagrined and Astrid sighs. 

“Alright, fine. I’m sorry. Lets just get going then, alright?” 

She grabs Snotlout from where he’s sat back down on his bed, and drags him outside with them to his numerous protests. 

They ready the dragons and take off again, only to land on a cliff slightly out of sight of the village. 

“Alright.” Hiccup begins as the wind scratches round his ears now that they’ve abandoned the shelter of the village. 

“I think for now that it’s better to not tell everyone else at the village what we think might be going on, not now that we don’t even have Aang as living proof that something strange is happening. I doubt that they’d be dismissive, but it would really just cause more problems than it would solve. We can take care of this ourselves.” 

“Who says there even is a problem?” 

“Well, let’s hope there isn’t. I’d much rather that I’d dragged you all out here for nothing rather than because there is something wrong.” 

“Let’s just stick to what we know for sure.” Fishlegs adds. “We know we’ve got to find Aang-“ 

“And we don’t even know where he is.” Tuffnut interjects. 

“That’s kind of the whole _finding him_ point I was making.” 

Astrid has surprisingly remained quiet through this exchange. Hiccup glances at her only to see her lost in thought. 

“What are you thinking?” 

“I was just wondering..” She glances at the dragons. “Aang seemed to really hit it off with the dragons. They really liked him, and remember how he said he could feel the dragon spirit? Well, I was just thinking about what if, maybe, the dragons could sense him too.” 

Snotlout snorts. “That’s crazy.” 

“Just about as crazy as anything Aang does, right?” 

Hiccup nods his head slowly. “It doesn’t hurt to try either way. We still have no idea where Aang is, or where he would even go. Even if doing what Astrid suggests just means we end up flapping around randomly, we’ll still be looking, right?” 

“..I mean, I guess. It still sounds crazy though.” 

“Do you have any other suggestions?” 

Evidently, Snotlout does not have any other suggestions, as he remains silent. Hiccup leans down to Toothless’ ear. 

“Aang. Can you find Aang?” 

He’s not sure whether his words have made any impact for a few seconds, but then Toothless opens is wings in a snap of sudden movement. Hiccup barely has time to comprehend what is happening before they’re off flying again. 

“Ok!” He hears Snotlout yell over the wind, and he look back to see the others following a few wing beats behind.  
“Maybe there’s the smallest possibility that Astrid was onto something earlier.” 

**.....**

They continue like this for some time. Hiccup’s not sure where they’re going, or even how far away they are from stopping, but he makes sure to scrutinise every island they fly over anyway, just to check for some small flash of bright yellow robes. Nothing. He can only hope that the dragons know where they’re doing, because he doesn’t have a clue. He’s not even sure of what they’re actually going to do when they find Aang. _Ask him about what’s going on? That seems like a good place to start_.. 

Astrid’s shout brings him out of his thoughts. He squints at his surrounds, trying to spot what it is that she’s seen, and then he too sees it. Up ahead, poking out of the sea, are an array or rocky sea-stacks. There’s one in the middle, something that could be tentatively called an island, and somebody is sitting cross-legged in the very centre. 

It’s Aang. 

_Finally_. 

Aang doesn’t even raise his head as they land, or give any indication at all of their presence. Funny, Hiccup thinks, he hasn’t even opened his eyes. Astrid places a foot forward, but Hiccup draws her back. He’s not sure why, but he has a deep set feeling that interrupting, whatever it is that Aang seems to be doing, would not be a good idea. 

Snotlout does not seem to have any such fears. Despite Hiccups warning glares, he strides up towards Aang, and bends down so that their faces are almost touching. Closed eyes stare into open ones, a pointless staring contest. 

“Wakey wakey!” Snotlout calls loudly. “Now is no time for sleeping! Do you have any idea what a trial it was looking for you? I had to get out of bed a whole hour before I normally do. And I need to sleep!” 

Aang does not make any remark in response to the heinous crime Snotlout has accused him of, which only serves to irritate Snotlout further.  
“Come on- wake up!” 

He grabs Aang’s arm, and several things happen in quick succession. 

Aang’s eyes snap open, glowing a bright, unearthly white, Snotlout screams, and then topples over backwards. 

For a minute, there’s a uneasy silence. Aang stares forward, eerie and unmoving while Snotlout scrambles back. Hiccup stands rigid, tense, and nervous with his hand on toothless’ head. Then Aang blinks, and then, and then- 

And then his eyes are their normal grey again, and Aang’s body slumps forwards as he sighs in exhaustion. 

“What in _Thor’s good name_ was that!” Snotlout screeches. 

Aang, finally, finally seems to notice them. “Huh? Oh, sorry, did I scare you?” 

By now Snotlout has recovered enough to stand up again, and this combined with the ceasing of the glowing eyes gives him enough confidence to laugh his fears off. 

“You think a little eye glowing is gonna freak me out? I’ll have you know I’ve faced down scarier things than you.” 

“I didn’t see facing down so much as facing up,” Astrid remarks dryly. “You can’t really face someone down when your collapsed to the floor in terror.” 

Snotlout blushes slightly as Ruffnut and Tuffnut laugh at his expression.  
“I was lulling him into a false sense of security. If he’d made one more move, then-“ 

“It doesn’t matter.” Aang interrupts. “I hate to say it, but we’ve got bigger problems.” 

Hiccup is suddenly reminded of everything they’d gone through to find Aang, and feels a little flash of irritation. 

“Where did you go? And why this place in particular? And why-?” He cuts himself off. No use bombarding Aang with questions. “Just…can you please give us an explanation for why you ran off to this tiny, random island?” 

Aang laughs slowly. “I’m sorry for disappearing on you like that. I would have told you where I was going, but I only sensed something was wrong in the middle of the night. I thought I could get out here, have a look and be back quicker if I went on my own.” 

“As for why this place in particular,” he gestures aimlessly to the rocky slopes of the island, “well, it was the place I first appeared in.” 

Hiccup and the others stare at him. 

“You mean, this is where you first showed up in our world?” 

“Yes. I thought it might be possible to try and get into the spirit world from here, and I could ask for some advice.” 

_And if that just doesn’t call for more questions… No. Stay on task. Don’t get distracted by vague mentions of questionable entities _.__

__“Advice about what? What is so important that you had to drop everything to get here in the middle of the night?”_ _

__“It’s the dragon spirit.” Aang clears his throat, and looks at them solemnly.  
“I think she might be trying to close off whatever force it was that lead me here, and as a consequence, _my way home_.”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh suspensory. Who _knows _what will happen next?__  
>  (I do)  
> Hope everyone had a happy new year! Lets hope 2021 decides to be nice lmao


	8. Desicions

Hiccup stares at Aang.

“What do you mean _cut off your way home_?” 

Aang sighs, and the tiredness in his voice is sobering. “I mean exactly that.” 

He stares upwards to the sky, as if hoping for answers from some benevolent god, and for a moment the only sound to be heard is the gentle crashing of the waves onto the small cliffs below them. 

“I, I haven’t been able to access the spirit world since I arrived here. I thought I was just uncentered, and that some meditation would help, but now… Aang bites his lip. “Now I don’t know.” 

“But, that weird eye glowing!” Snotlout half yells in confusion. “What was that all about? Despite not knowing much about magic spirits, I have to say that looked pretty spiritual to me.” 

“It was more of an inwardly spiritual thing than anything. Me trying to reach out to the past Avatars.” 

Astrid opens her mouth, probably to ask another question, but Aang continues before she can speak. 

“They’re still there, that I still have at least, but… The connection is faint. It’s like I’m hearing them from underwater.” 

He looks down at his arms forlornly. “It’s why my arrows weren’t glowing either. You remember me saying they were important to my people?” 

They nod, and Aang continues. Well, they’re more than just for show, they’re deeply spiritual. And now, I’m still connected to all of the Avatar’s power, and not as much to the spiritual side… well.” 

Astrid pinches the bridge of her nose. “Look, just hold on a minute. Why exactly would your dragon spirit even want to close off whatever force lead you here? Aren’t you supposed to be some sort of big deal to your “spirits” or whatever?” 

Aang throws his hands up towards the sky in frustration. “I mean, she’s a spirit. _Nothing_ the spirits do is _ever_ clear! But I think the closest thing to explain what she’s trying to do, is that she’s separating the worlds. She got here through a weak point, and now she’s closing that weak point off.” 

“But _why_.” 

“It’s not like my world has given her any reason to stay.” There is a deep line of bitterness in Aang’s voice, a tone that Hiccup rarely hears from him. 

“The Fire Nation hunted down her children, our dragons, and _nobody_ did anything to stop them. _I_ didn't do anything to stop them. And I’ve had enough people tell me over the years that it wasn’t my fault, and maybe that’s true! But spirits don’t see things like that.” 

Aang sighs, voice heavy and full of regret. “In their opinion, the Avatar was the one who disappeared, so the Avatar is the one to blame.” 

Hiccup doesn’t know what to say to that. He wants to reassures Aang, tell him it wasn’t his fault, but he’s sure it would be an empty comfort. What does he really know about the history of Aang’s world? And even if what Aang says sounds _so unfair_ , that’s not really the point right now. 

So, he clears his head, and focuses on the part of Aang’s speech that had sparked confusion in his mind.  
"When you say hunted her children..” 

Aang’s eyes are dull as he speaks; a clouded, granite hue. “The dragons. Our worlds dragons. In just a hundred years, they were hunted to near extinction. There’s only a handful left now. But if she leaves… there won’t even be that amount. And there will _never_ be any hope of them returning.” 

A nervous silence descends on the group. Toothless growls softly, and this quiet reassurance gives Hiccup the strength to ask his next question. 

“What happens to you? If you really do get cut off I mean.” 

Aang looks down at his hands, now half wrapped around his chest. 

“I…don’t know. Nothing good I think. The Avatar spirit is part of my _world_. I’m not sure if it could survive cut off from that.” 

He laughs, a joyless tone, so different from the noise Hiccup has become accustomed too. “I suppose the only way to really find out is to see it for myself.” 

Astrid shakes her head. “Well, we can’t let that happen. As much as I’m sure you’ve loved your stay here, I’m pretty sure you don’t want to hang out with us forever.” 

Aang smiles softly. “No, I think not. No offense.” 

Snotlout snorts. “Well, what do we do then? There has to be _something_ , right? We can’t just sit here like a bunch of sea slugs.” 

Aang nods, a new determination coming into his eyes.  
“We have to find her, and I have to stop her.” 

Fishlegs tentatively raises a hand. “Uhh, no offense, but we’ve been searching for weeks now. What makes you think now will be any different? 

“Well, apart from the stakes being higher now, it’s the power. Before she was hiding, staying low. But now that she’s messing with the fabric of the world, I can sense her. Clearer than ever. I know where she is now, and I know how we can get there.” 

“Well, what are we all just doing sitting around here then? If you know where she is and not just the vague area where she could be, we should be moving!” 

Aang looks at them anxiously. “It could be dangerous.” 

“Ha!” Tuffnut exclaims. “I’ll have you know my good sir, that we laugh in the face of danger. _Hahaha_!” 

Hiccup has to stifle back a small laugh of his own at the sight of Aang’s expression in response to Tuffnut’s slightly deranged laughter. 

“Well, if you’re sure you really want to help..”  
Aang’s words are slow, carefully enunciated, but Hiccup can still detect the palpable hope that clings to them. 

“ _Of course_ we want to help. We’ve come this far, what would be the use in giving up now?”  
Hiccup glances towards the others, and sees his own resolve shine back at him from the others faces. Aang is in their world, and it’s their obligation to help him. More than that, he’s a friend, a friend who needs their support. 

Aang smiles towards them, and Hiccup sees relief clearly illuminated in his eyes, granite-gey melting once more into bright silver. 

“..I know the way now.” 

He reaches down to the staff he carries so religiously by his side, and completes the impossibly quick set of movements once again. 

The blue fabric snaps outwards, like the unfolding of a dragon’s wings. It’s bright, and bold, and matches the sky of the sky on one of Berk’s sunnier days. 

Aang throws himself towards the sea below them in an easy, swooping dive, and for a moment Hiccups heart jumps to his throat. 

But then, in a swirling of movement and a rush of displaced air, Aang reappears, moving as for all the world he really did have wings. 

“Follow me!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... _Aang_ st...
> 
> Sorry for being super slow on an update! Here, take this chapter as an apology :D


	9. Storm Warning

_Earlier, the sun was shining_ , Hiccup laments to himself as the fly after the scrap of orange and blue ahead of them that is Aang. _It had been a perfectly lovely day earlier_. Why did the Dragon Spirit have to choose the _one nice day_ they’d had all year to attack?

Its not like they even really need Aang to lead the way anymore. The further they fly, the darker the sky gets, until the cerulean horizon is replaced with swirls of inscrutable grey. For some reason, the sight of it sends shivers down his spine, a tingling, uncomfortable feeling. He’s used to the cold, they all are, and this bank of clouds shouldn’t pose a problem. But the shivers reverberate through his chest, through his mind, and he knows deep inside that these clouds weren’t caused by something natural. 

He grips Toothless’ saddle tighter, feeling the rough scales beneath it with his fingers. He almost can’t imagine what it would be like to lose Toothless; in such a short time he has become an impartible aspect of his life. _Aang’s world had lost almost all of their dragons_. He doesn’t want to think about how that must feel for Aang. 

The wind is buffeting against them harder now, like some huge invisible dragon pushing them back with the great flaps of its wings. He can see Toothless straining against it, and knows that the others must be finding it difficult too. Then, up ahead, movement. Hiccup squints desperately through the wind towards it. _Is it the dragon spirit? Is it coming towards them? He has to make sure the others have seen it, that they can protect themselves-_

The figure parts the build up of clouds in front of it, and the wind dies down enough around them for Hiccup to be able to hear his own sigh of relief. 

The relief is short lived however, as he takes in Aang’s pale and drawn face. Aang stretches out one tattooed arm to point downwards, and Toothless complies in a steep dive that sets the wind screaming in Hiccup’s ears. Closer to the water below them, the cloud cover is reduced, and the gale is softer. Toothless drifts with the sea spray only inches below them as the tumultuous waves smash against each other like bitter enemies. He hears wingbeats, and looks up just in time to see the others descend from the clouds close behind him. Aang hovers in front of them, and Hiccup tries not to be unnerved by the way that gravity has no hold over him at all. 

“Ok,” Aang says, nearly inaudible over the crashing sea foam. “I’ve flown ahead, and as you may have noticed; the clouds are getting a bit thicker.” 

“ _Really_?” Snotlout’s voice is dripping with nervous sarcasm. “Seems like an ideal day for a flight to me!” 

Aang makes the wise choice not to retort, and continues unbothered. “The spirit is pulling the clouds closer to her, to protect herself I think. It should make finding her a little easier I guess,” he laughs weakly, “but also it’s obviously going to be harder to reach her.” 

“What,” Astrid says, and Hiccup hears the light teasing in her voice, “You think we can’t handle some bad weather?” 

Aang’s laugh is stronger this time, and his face looks slightly less drawn. “I’ve got no doubt that you’ll be able to make it through the clouds, but I think it’s going to be harder to get closer to the spirit.” 

“Do we actually have a plan for what we need to do once we get closer to her?” Fishlegs says pensively, “Because I for one would rather keep a safe distance from the supernaturally powerful spirit if it’s all the same to you.” 

Aang sighs, face dropping slightly again. “I’ve been trying to get into the Avatar state, but it’s… difficult. The potential for it is there, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to reach it. However, being closer to the spirit might enable me to enter the Avatar state, because what’s more spiritual then literally being next to a spirit!?” 

“Even if you do manage it reach the Avatar mode, or whatever it’s called, what would do you do then?” 

Aang clenches and unclenches his hands nervously. “That’s the bit I haven’t quite figured out yet. But don’t worry, I have the feeling that I’ll know what to do.” 

That…doesn’t exactly fill Hiccup with reassurance, but what other plans do they have? 

“I hate to be the one asking questions,” Astrid says, pushing stray strands of hair out of her mouth as the wind all around them shrieks, “But I wouldn’t have thought that your dragon spirit will take kindly to a bunch of people getting close to it.” 

“No, I don’t think she will. I’ll do my best to take her by surprise, but if she spots us, you guys may need to distract her.” 

“Won’t firing at her just make her angrier?” 

“Well yes,” Aang grimaces. “That may be a problem. However, I don’t think she can really get much angrier than she is now, so what’s the worst that can happen?” 

Ruffnut and Tuffnut are making frantic shushing noises before the words are even half out of Aang’s mouth.  
“Hasn’t anybody ever told you _not_ to say that?!” 

**.....**

Back in the air, the renewed ferocity of the wind feels like knives slashing across Hiccup’s exposed face. He grits his teeth, and tries to drown out the screeching air by replaying Gobber singing a particularly dynamic sea shanty in his head. 

…Actually, he thinks he prefers the noise of the wind. 

He can tell that Toothless is finding flying harder, something he’s not alone in if the struggling wingbeats of the other dragons are anything to go by. There’s a flash of murky green as an unfortunate terrible-terror flies past them, a look of surprise etched into its face as the unexpected cyclone hurls it off into the clouds. Hiccup can barely see a metre in front of Toothless’ saddle, and a trickle of panic is beginning to seep into his mind. 

_Are they really going to be able to fly through this thing? Should they regroup, maybe come at it from a different angle_? 

Aang’s voice drifts through the air. “ _Keep going! We’re almost there.._!” 

They better be, because Hiccup’s not sure how long they can keep this up for… 

And then all of a sudden, the pressure around him relents, the wind pulls back its grasp- 

There’s a second of almost silence, or what passes for silence without the wind’s roar. The clouds are thinner here, but still press around the edges. There’s a brightness, dull sun filtered through a layering of clouds. 

_The eye of a storm…_

His eyes eagerly take in his surroundings, free from their shroud of cloud. Astrid flies so close to him that he could almost reach out to touch her, Aang glides above him, and the twins, Snotlout and Fishlegs are arrayed to his right and left. The storm must have carried them higher than Hiccup had realised, because far below, the sea swirls in green spirals. 

He takes a breath, relishing that it’s no longer a struggle. Then his mind catches up to his body. They’re not safe yet. 

It moves like mist, a long rippling shape almost blended in with the clouds at the other side of the brief circle of calm. There’s a sound like the crashing of a million storms, a horrible, ear tearing noise, and Hiccup realises that it wasn’t just the wind roaring, was never just the wind roaring- 

The dragon spirit raises its head, and its eyes are like pure electricity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh, looks like sombody woke up on the wrong side of the bed
> 
> As always, thank you to anyone who takes the time to comment or leave kudos, constructive crititsism is always appreciated, and everybody stay safe!


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